The Story of Yonosuke (2013)

aka A Story of Yonosuke

Yonosuke Yokomichi (Kengo Kora) travels from Nagasaki to Tokyo to study at the city's university. He's a little shy, slightly naïve and subjectively strange, but he makes friends easily, sometimes without even trying.
In later years the people that Yonosuke met reflect on the time spent with him, appreciating how he touched and enriched each of their lives in a unique way. In service of that the story jumps back and forth in time to show how an event in the past shapes the future (i.e. the present); a mature understanding of how time seasons those kinds of memories will increase your enjoyment. It's a beautiful idea, overall, but the result is a little underwhelming at times.

2½ sambas out of 5

The Woodsman and the Rain (2011)

A simple woodsman (Kôji Yakusho) gets interrupted during his work by an apologetic man who explains that the forest worker is himself causing a disturbance, in regards to the filming of a movie not far away. In an odd but captivating way the two different worlds slowly overlap and the aged villager, initially uninterested in the production, drifts into a friendship with the film's unassuming young director (Shun Oguri), a beneficial pairing that leads to the two individuals gaining mutual guidance from one another.
Japanese director Shûichi Okita nails the kind of incredible comic timing that many of his genre peers have, and he makes it look effortless.
If you've enjoyed any of the comedies distributed by TWF that I've covered previously, it's a good bet that you'll feel similarly about The Woodsman.

3½ quiet skies out of 5

Ruined Heart: Another Lovestory Between a Criminal and a Whore (2014)

I don't know how it is for other folks, whether they be professional, amateur, hobbyist or otherwise, but, speaking for myself, when it comes to putting together words to describe a viewing some are easy, some are challenging, and a special few, like Ruined Heart, are damn near impossible.
It has a dreamlike quality; not in a colourful and floaty way, but in how it moves from scene to scene, from emotive event to artistic intent. With almost no dialogue to aid comprehension it relies on feelings, delivered primarily via a combination of imagery (cinematography by Christopher Doyle) and peculiar music courtesy of Dir. Khavn and bizarre duo Stereo Total, amongst others.

3½ conceptual lines out of 5

Mitsuko Delivers (2011)

Single, nine months pregnant and financially broke, Mitsuko (Riisa Naka) is running low on options. But she's strong-willed and has a personal philosophy that keeps her afloat when life seems determined to drag her down. To the people she meets, such as the unmotivated, the unlucky, and the hopeless, Mitsuko is an inspiration. When she moves into a rundown tenement, populated with a number of such folks, she has her work cut out for her.
It's a Japanese comedy drama from Dir. Yûya Ishii with just the right amount of heart and quirkiness to make it fun and warming. The flashbacks to fifteen years previous add welcome depth to the oddball characters.

3 fair winds out of 5

Shady (2012)

Japanese schoolgirls Izumi (Izumi Okamura) and Misa (Mimpi*β) are being bullied by the same aggressive classmate; the former girl because she's perceived as being too pretty, and the latter for being perceived as not pretty enough. Even though they're placed at opposite ends of a (subjective) scale, the common ground is enough for a strong friendship to develop.
At first it resembles a sweet coming-of-age drama and if it had continued on that path it would've been a better than average example of such, but closeness can sometimes have a less desirable side to it – a darker side that an emotionally damaged teenager may find a strange and misplaced kind of solace in. Dir. Watanabe's Shady explores that side of a relationship, too.

4 pressure points out of 5

Instant Swamp (2009)

Haname (Kumiko Asô) is something of a walking contradiction. She believes only in things that she can see with her own eyes, but misses many of the coincidences that seem to follow her around. She mocks others for reading horoscopes, etc, and yet has a secret desire that fate will deliver her the romantic resolution to her slowly 'eroding' life that she hungers for. But when fate instead introduces her to a hippy (Morio Kazama) and a punk (Ryo Kase), Haname's active imagination is kicked into overdrive.
The film arrives at its message/destination in a roundabout way, but even when chasing its own tail it's fun to watch. The ending is both predicable and wildly unpredictable, but in a complementary and satisfying way.

3 "interesting circumstances" out of 5

Getting Any? (1995)

Comedy doesn't always travel well, especially when many of the gags are reliant on cultural knowledge that a foreign audience may lack. But even when taking that into account Getting Any? misfires on multiple levels.
The comedy, though well-timed, just isn't funny; and its structure is little more than a series of absurd sketches loosely documenting a hopeless man's desire to have sex in a car. But first he needs a car. His leaps of logic in service of his lascivious goal make no sense, but perhaps that's part of the joke(?).
Along the way it parodies other films/characters, including Lone Wolf and Cub, Zatoichi, the roles of actor Jô Shishido, kaijū (specifically Mothra), The Fly (1986), and, bizarrely, Ghostbusters (1984), all of which are much better films.

1 labolatory [sic] failure out of 5

Adrift in Tokyo (2007)

Takemura (Joe Odagiri) is an average loser, not completely shameless but more than willing to stoop or weasel if the situation calls for it. When a capable debt collector (Tomokazu Miura) offers Takemura a solution to his financial situation, an unusual but ostensibly harmless alternative to punishment, the indebted loser has little choice but to accept. He understands the request on a literal level, but there's more to be gained than he can know.
I adore these kinds of films, simple character studies that have no need for CGI support, that achieve their objective in an adroit way that's quirky but not like an overindulgent Jeunet bomb. Adrift is a fine addition to the genre.

3½ spicy straits out of 5

Kakera: A Piece of Our Life (2010)

Many of the scenes in Kakera are pure perfection, especially in the first half. I wanted it all to be that way, but it reflects life and life is never that way, so the film had to follow suit. In truth, such contrasts are important to our understanding and appreciation of each particular feeling, which is a topic that the film itself explores. It's the story of two women, one a college undergraduate with an unfaithful partner who uses her mostly for sex, and the other a prosthetist who sculpts lifelike body parts for people who require them to feel whole again. In a sense, one is an unfulfilled student, while the other is an artist who gives a sense of peace to those in need and like every true artist she understands the salient beauty of imperfection.

3½ X chromosomes out of 5

Turtles Are Surprisingly Fast Swimmers (2005)

With her husband away on business most of the time, twenty-three-year-old Suzume (Juri Ueno) spends her days at home being bored and feeling ordinary, feeding the pet turtle daily and contemplating what life would be like if she was an exciting person like her best friend Kujaku (Yū Aoi).
Using the clichéd but still usually enjoyable dramatic irony that fuels a lot of indie films, Turtles plays around with the reversal that occurs when someone with an average existence suddenly becomes extraordinary but must try to appear ordinary to onlookers. It's fun, but personally I prefer quirks be more subtle than what's used, and I felt the whole thing went beyond whimsical into rather aimless territory. But perhaps that was the goal all along?
My favourite player was the ramen chef, played by Yutaka Matsushige.

2½ inconspicuous activities out of 5

Sawako Decides (2009)

Sawako has low self-esteem. She's the opposite of her co-workers, all of whom seem to have a strong opinion on everything and everyone. When Sawako finds herself in a situation involving freshwater clams and a sweater-knitting partner, her weak decision-making skills are put to the test.
Sometimes the film tries too hard to be likeable, as if it's forcing the issue, and the lead actress didn't always convince me that she was Sawako in anything but name, but both failings are largely ironed out by the second half, which culminates in a well-rounded and above all memorable closing scene.
Most viewers will be able to find something relatable in the script—if not in the primary narrative, then in the details—but the uniquely Japanese humour has the potential to greatly confuse the uninitiated.

3 elevated lower-middles out of 5

Fukuchan of FukuFuku Flats (2014)

It's named for Fukuda (Miyuki Oshima) but the story has a slightly wider focus. By day Fukuda paints concrete buildings, by night it's homemade kites. He also acts as occasional mediator between the other oddball characters that reside in the titular flats. Elsewhere, a woman (Asami Mizukawa) unable to decide if she's a photographer or not is having difficulty keeping her life on track. Both individuals are coping with the distant past in their own unique way.
FoFF is an unassuming gem of a film with a quirky wit that engenders heart-warming feelings even in its quietest moments. In addition, throughout are deadpan comedy scenes that are as touching as they are belly-busting.
The sincerity of its protagonist is its greatest strength, proof that simplicity done well can easily accommodate the true heart of storytelling.

4 lenses of truth out of 5

Fine, Totally Fine (2008)

I've probably said this at least once before over the years, but it deserves repeating: many regular, everyday people are amazing, and all it takes to realise it is to observe in the correct way. Dir. Yôsuke Fujita does that beautifully in his début feature, with comedy timing that's almost flawless.
There are about half a dozen characters of interest, but the three primary ones are a shy female artist who secretly paints the crazy homeless lady that lives near a bridge, a manual labourer who's obsessed with all things horror and likes to scare people, and a hospital clerk who just wants to be loved. They cross paths eventually, coming together in a book store that's owned by the father of the labourer, and who may be suffering from depression.

4 fish sausages out of 5

Kids Return (1996)

Told mostly in flashback, it's the story of two high school friends, Shinji and Masaru (Masanobu Andô and Ken Kaneko, respectively), who occasionally go to school but spend very little time in actual class. The tutors have given up on them, seeing them as either directionless morons or little more than petty thieves in training. In time, the duo would probably agree. But a single event gives them a perspective that eventually leads to insight.
Often in Kitano films the secondary characters are just as interesting as the primaries, but in Kids Return some of the lesser characters actually stole the show, being arguably even more interesting than the two main ones and I'd love to have seen their substories expanded and further explored.
Oddly, even though it's but a tiny portion of the film insofar as running time goes, I was affected more by the scenes set in the present than in flashback.

3 dynamite blows out of 5

A Scene at the Sea (1991)

Garbage collector Shigeru finds a broken surfboard by the side of the road. He takes it home and thereafter a story develops slowly over a short but magical summer in which simplicity is beauty and the mundane is deadpan hilarious.
Both Shigeru (Claude Maki) and his girlfriend Takako (Hiroko Ôshima) are deaf, so there's not a lot of spoken dialogue, but the silence in no way diminishes the relationship or our understanding of it because the 'voice' of the piece is very much Kitano's and he orchestrates it masterfully; the bond between the couple has a rhythm that can be heard over the sound of wind and waves.
It marked the first of many times that the director had composer Joe Hisaishi provide the score. The music and image are so seamlessly matched emotionally that it's as if the pair had been working together for decades.

4 horizon lines out of 5

Uzumasa Limelight (2014)

Kamiyama is an ageing kirareyaku, a bit-part actor whose job is to be killed dramatically by a film's lead, to exist just outside the limelight. The waning popularity of jidaigeki films in his native Japan means Kamiyama's usefulness in the industry to which he's devoted his life is destined to soon end.
Having a real life kirareyaku in the role (Seizô Fukumoto, who's died onscreen over 50,000 times in a very long career) gives the Kamiyama character an authenticity that cinema rarely manages to capture. Likewise, Chihiro Yamamoto, who's starring in her first film, brings the same as a fresh-faced actress who fits into the new, more profitable template.
The sadness in the story is nicely offset by a genuine underlying warmth, a feeling of love for an era that deserves to live on.

3½ prawn bends out of 5

PTU: Police Tactical Unit (2003)

aka Tactical Unit: Into the Perilous Night

A small team of Hong Kong police search for a comrade’s missing gun over the course of one eventful night. They’re the typical scumbag law enforcers that are common the world over, the kind that it's difficult to justifiably sympathise with, and yet somehow we do, and with each incremental, upwards notch of the danger level we're right there alongside them.
While it didn't have a huge budget, it has enough dramatic style and subtle humour to keep the meticulously paced slow burn engaging until the various threads of the story meet and the film becomes more than the sum of its parts; like the roads of a city, its avenues and pathways are interconnected.
There's music, occasionally, but mostly the sounds of the night time streets are what we hear, another subtle but perfect connection to the environment.

4 identical ringtones out of 5

Underwater Love (2011)

Pinku films often push boundaries, not just of good taste but of style and substance, keeping the spirit of experimentation alive in an industry that's well-known for strangling it at birth. UL embodies that experimental notion by merging Pinku with the musical, telling the story of a woman who works in a fish factory and of a kappa that's in love with her.
The insanely catchy music is by German duo Stereo Total. Songs aren't as integral to the plot as I'd have liked, but it's worthy of praise for even existing as it does. The enthusiasm of the female lead, Sawa Masaki, as she bursts into spontaneous dancing is wonderfully uplifting to watch. It has a distinctly handmade quality that makes me like it even more.

3½ revivals out of 5

New Directors from Japan (2014)

A collection of shorts and one full-length film from three different Japanese filmmakers who’d previously not seen any kind of proper distribution either at home or abroad, courtesy of a successful Third Window Films Kickstarter campaign. It’s limited to just 1000 copies.
-KosukeTakaya’s ‘Buy Bling, Get One Free’ (35mm / 27mins) is a kind of commentary on the Harajuku fashion phenomenon.
-Hirobumi Watanabe’s ‘And the Mud Ship Sails Away’ (HD / 88mins) is a comedy about a small town loser. I can relate. It was my favourite.
-Nagisa Isogai gets two, the best of which is ‘The Lust of Angels’ (HD / 40mins). It’s also the most controversial, dealing with the mindset of a small group of teenagers and sexual molestations on trains.
Overall, it's a fine collection that has me hoping for a Volume II.

3 problems with family out of 5

Dolls (2002)

Three vignettes exploring the same idea weave into one non-linear entity that’s also paradoxically linear in a very fundamental way.
Kitano's editing is typically flawless. Visually it's more colourful than usual and certainly more open to interpretation. It’s less overtly violent, but is perhaps the most violent of all when you delve deeper into the motivations. I found it impossible to hold onto one narrative thread and follow it without succumbing to the urge to grasp at a hundred others.
Ultimately, you'll take from it what you bring to it.
Some basic knowledge of Japanese society will enrich the experience.

4 closing seasons out of 5